Weather

Before I left, they told me that Buenos Aires winters were cold and humid, but with lots of rain, not snow... rain that goes right through any Argentian umbrellas. So I packed my little cheap American umbrella that somehow made it through the spring rains of Dijon, plus the recommended layers. It was funny to carry a coat to the Des Moines airport in the middle of July.

Whether it's Delta or the Boeing 767, the plane from Atlanta to Santiago had screens that periodically informed us what was the speed of the wind or what was the current degree of longitude and latitude, and other interesting information obscure enough that I can't recall it right now. One thing I did understand was the exterior temperature, so low you don't even want to think about it. Planes tend to be cool so the coat came in handy before we even hit the right latitude.

The first week in Buenos Aires was similar to pleasant fall days in Iowa. Then the temperature dropped the weekend before classes started. Three layers plus a light coat and a good scarf and maybe a hat is about right. Even the buildings are rather cool.

However, in the last couple days we've had rain and somewhat warmer temperatures. I hear that tomorrow it might be getting up to 14 degrees Celsius. Judging by experience in France, this could be exciting... we might be passing the threshold from cold to cool! But then even cool tends to feel cold when it's humid, at least it has a way of burrowing down to the bone.

There's nothing like central heating in our house. Instead there are gas heaters in the two main rooms plus a couple regular (plugged-in) heaters, including one in mine which keeps it plenty toasty at night. But we can't leave the gas heaters on overnight or when we are gone, so the house keeps moving from cold to warm to cool, not to mention every room is a different temperature...

Gas heaters and gas ovens and stoves are fun to light. If it weren't for the lighter that Silvina bought to replace the old one that wasn't working, I would already have used more matches than I ever have at home, even burning trash those couple months that Daddy and Mommy were at Mayo. There's a neat long stick that can be used to transfer the flame from one gas burner to another, or can be lit with a match to start the heaters or the oven. The trick for these latter is keeping up the gas long enough for it to 'catch'. (Don't worry. So far I haven't burned the house down.)

Speaking of weather, we're thankful that the hail didn't break our roof like it did many other roofs in the same departamento. All you can see from inside the patio are nice choppy undulations with the paint knocked off.

Well, spring should be coming along in September. In the summer we get to open the roof on the patio / dining room. Kind of cool in that room in winter, especially in the morning when the heater hasn't been on all night - but then it's nearly perfect for judging the outdoor temperature (adjusting for wind and rain). Besides, there's nothing like stepping out of your cosy little heated room into a big cold one to wake you up in the morning. Better'n coffee!